The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has realised how important it is for the administration of justice to be information technology-based and it has embarked on a major programme which will transform the way in which it delivers services to the public.
That`s according to Dr Penuell Maduna, Minister for Justice and Constitutional. His address was delivered to delegates at Xcel`s annual business partner function entitled: Service Delivery 2000 - Creating Business Excellence. In Dr. Maduna unavoidable absence his address was delivered by Professor Cheryl Loots, legal advisor to the Minister. Several organisations including Safika Technologies, EDS, ICL, Molepe Consulting, Computron and Phambili Information Technologies received awards for their efforts in assisting Xcel to jointly develop local and international markets.
He said the transformation programme is known as e-justice and consists of four projects that will make a huge contribution towards the building of a truly integrated justice system. Its flagship project, known as the Court Process Project (CPP) revolves around the court processes and it will radically change the manner in which the Department attends to court and case management in both civil and criminal cases.
The CPP was recently awarded to the Phambili Consortium which comprises Phambili Information Technologies, Xcel and Informix. It will initially target the two courts which handle the highest volume of work - Johannesburg and Durban magistrates courts.
The second project involves the establishment of ubiquitous connectivity within the Department. In the past eighteen months the Department has increased the number of computer facilities from 1 500 to nearly 5 000, including 70 networks. In the current financial year this number will increase to 8 000. This project will enable basic electronic communication and provide access to electronic legal research data for the Department`s human resource personnel.
The third project, which has already been successfully initiated, seeks to automate the Department`s financial administration systems. Automation of the State attorney`s offices is near completion and a pilot scheme to automate the justice deposit account system has been completed.
The final project deals with the establishment of an information management system. The proof of concept has been successful and it is envisaged that the system will be developed across all departments within the justice cluster within three years.
Minister Maduna said he was confident that the use of IT will transform South Africa`s justice system. "The e-justice programme will benefit the majority of South Africans, especially the poor and the disadvantaged. By making justice more accessible through the civil courts, enabling people to enforce their legal rights. It will also make the criminal justice system more effective by streamlining the processes and the communication of information within and between the different departments of Government which are involved in the fight against crime."
Share
